


Daemonwatch Vignettes

by Skua Grey (Skuabird)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Gen, I'm werkin' on the third chapter I promise!, pretty far into it too!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-07-24 01:55:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7488786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skuabird/pseuds/Skua%20Grey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what it says on the tin: a one-shot series about my headcanons concerning Overwatch characters and daemons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. True Self Has No Form (That Can Be Seen, Anyway)

It is only common sense to guess that a traveling teacher would learn many things themself over the course of their career. If there's one lesson in particular which the years so far have taught Tekharta Zenyatta, it's that great multitudes of individuals are all inter-linked by common ways of thinking: every one of his pupils, be they human or Omnic (or somewhere in-between), had reacted with some degree of incredulity when he told them about his own daemon. "But that's something only humans have!" each one had said, in some fashion. "Where are they, then, if you have one?" each one had wanted to know.

None of them could be blamed for their ignorance, of course. Such is only the natural way of this reality he lives in. Humans evolved with their souls outside of them, tangible and in the likeness of a different organism, while Omnics neither evolved nor had souls to begin with (or so most think). But Zenyatta knows his daemon is there, he talks to them and knows their voice, and he's certain he knows things about daemons that not even most humans are aware of - things he's been called to teach the rest of the world about.

Of course, there are indeed little differences between the daemons of men and machines, as the Shambali teach. Aside from residing within his computer brain, where he can't truly see them and they can only see through his light sensors, they do not have a name as of yet (he hasn't yet found one that feels right), and since they are a mere mental presence, their thin voice would just disappear if he were ever to stop thinking about it. But the monk has met many people already in his short life, many whose bonds with their daemons needed repairing, and it seems to him that the souls of flesh and the souls of metal aren't too dissimilar at their cores. His daemon, he is certain, knew this long before he found the courage to consciously question the doctrines echoing all around him; in fact, if he hadn't been listening to their words one night in deep meditation, he would never have left his old monastery, where his brothers' daemons still aren't allowed to have names or voices.

Having lived for so long in such a heretical manner, he is not surprised in the moments when it occurs to him that he might be nearly human himself (though he's never been at war with his mechanical vessel - Omnics are what they are, and he's never seen a reason to complain). It's not even so strange to him that there are moments when he imagines his soul were something other than the being kept snugly within his head - something more fitting of a human. Yes, when he's feeling particularly vulgar and uninhibited, he will think of a light weight pressing into his robes, of thin scaly coils wrapped loosely around his neck motors, of a colorful little head with bright eyes flicking out their tongue in the corner of his eye - he saw a few of these tree snakes when he was in Myanmar, and for some reason he liked them for himself. Form is not necessary at all for the self, but there is no harm in pretending; after all, nothing will convince Zenyatta to doubt that his other half is there, or that they always will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've recently fallen deep into the Overwatch fandom pit, as anyone following my Tumblr will know, and I immediately proceeded to come up with some ideas concerning daemons. So here, have these nice four paragraphs of exposition (not all of the chapters will be this way, though, I promise).
> 
> The snake in whose form Zenyatta likes to imagine his daemon is a paradise flying snake, a serpent that can be found throughout southeast Asia. In addition to the usual interpretation of snakes as symbolizing wisdom and healing (most accurate for Zenny here), flight and the element of air are added to suggest freedom and the communication of ideas. Plus, while these snakes are far from the deadliest ones out there, their venom can still paralyze the small critters they eat, which I think could accurately describe Zenyatta's status as an offensive supporting hero.
> 
> Well, thanks for reading, and any concrit/kudos are much appreciated! <3


	2. The Mission, Or The Man?  Dust, Or The Soul?

Now _this_ is more like it. She's found a clean shot, directly at the central tower's heart. Only one missile left, but if she gets it just right, she can shut Anubis down and avenge all who have fallen here tonight. Now that she's out of the bots' lines of fire, all she has to do is get herself focused, and--

"Pharah, over there!" comes a piercing cry. She looks straight to her left, not even pausing to acknowledge Nasirah who is now wheeling above her, and she sees what's unfolding. One of the pillars is toppling. The rookie is right beneath, about five seconds away from being crushed, and he won't be able to get out of the way fast enough (though his daemon tries to help). What a fine time it is for Pharah to encounter this dilemma: he's far too young to die, but she has a mission to complete, but she must protect her team...

 _"Now!"_ Nasirah screams in her ear, striking her helmet with a talon as she passes. The lieutenant's decision is made.

In a split second, they've rocketed over to the man and his desperate burrowing owl, and a split second later, all four of them are out of the way and cringing on the floor as the column crashes behind them. Though the dust is thick all around them, she can tell from the lessened noise that they are in relative safety behind the fallen pillar, and so they slowly arise into crouching positions. Though she can't see the other's expression clearly (for it is obscured, and he is having a coughing fit), she knows he's full of pure astonishment right now. "Why - _ugh_ \- did you save me?!" he rasps when his throat is clear.

"What kind of question is that?" she replies. As if it genuinely surprises her.

"I thought..." He pauses, wiping the dirt and sweat from his scarred face. "I thought no one was more important than the mission."

Normally, hearing these words thrown back at her like this wouldn't sting Pharah the way it does. Her team should only expect to be given assignments like these, to be entrusted with duties this heavy, and what else is she supposed to do except make sure they are completed? If it's her job to save cities, then why should she let the deaths of individuals bother her? But now, she finds herself looking at a battered young rookie - Tariq, who was fully expecting to die just a few moments ago and likely still isn't sure he can trust his commander. She's looking at his daemon, lying sprawled a yard or so away with Nasirah by her side - panting, messy-feathered, wide eyes glazed with terror. And in her mind, she sees all the people who have already died before her tonight, Helix soldiers and civilians alike, with the light slowly fading from their faces and their souls dissipating even as they clung desperately to their bodies - people like her captain. If not for them, then for whom is she fighting?

Then her own daemon spreads her wings and flaps over to Pharah, perching on her raised fist. "We're trying something new," says the hawk for her human, her plumage gleaming steel and copper in the blue lighting, her soft voice not quite matching the severe gaze she directs at the man. She turns back to Pharah, and the soldier mentally thanks her companion.

"Yes," Pharah continues, "we're going to beat this damn thing together. Got any ideas?"

The rookie is taken aback as she helps him up, but he quickly gets himself under control and begins working out a plan aloud, his daemon rising and scurrying over to him as he explains himself. It sounds as though it might work - he says he's had experience with this system, and the way he talks shows it well enough - so she's okay with trusting him. Nasirah, whose thoughts are an undercurrent through Pharah's mind, knows better than to gloat during times like this, but her human can sense that her feathers still puff out a bit with some glimmer of pride - _we knew of his skills already,_ she thinks back, _so it was just a matter of preserving a valuable asset._

But now is a time for action. "How can we help?" she asks tersely.

The rookie is already holding the head of a nearby crushed Omnic in his hands, examining it with his daemon and preparing to go to work. "Buy us enough time to do this before they kill us," is all he says.

Nasirah leaps into the air and soars away before Pharah can say anything in reply. So she races out from cover after her to face the encroaching robots.

**

Midnight had come and gone before the mission was accomplished. As dawn's first glow begins to seep into the dark sky, Pharah stands beside what is left of her team - Tariq, woozy but alright after his electrocution, and Saleh, just now coming to as he lies in a stretcher - as they prepare to board an air ambulance. As she stands tall, her suit gleaming in the aircraft's light against the backdrop of early morning, her goshawk daemon perched on her armored shoulder with her scarlet breast bright as a banner, her pride in Anubis' destruction and the salvation of the city practically shines like the yet-to-be-born sun; one would never guess that within this statue of valor, her heart aches under the weight of heavy thoughts.

"Captain?" rasps an interrupting voice. She looks down at Saleh, whose eyes are now open and squinting up at her.

"No, sorry," she replies in a voice just high enough for him to hear, the words tightening around her throat as they come out. "The captain...didn't make it." _And it is my fault,_ she thinks, _my fault for failing to save him._ She remembers what he said to her earlier - "he who saves one life, it as if he has saved Dust itself" - and only now does the truth of it sink in, words of judgment in her mind, like Khalil's blood on her hands and Akilah's atoms fading around her. She betrays none of this, of course, and neither does Nasirah.

Saleh's eyes are wide open now, and the expression on his face is clear - but it is not one of grief. This is a gaze filled with hope, admiration, something like the way a child looks at someone they know they can trust. His Cheleb seems to be awake as well, head raised from where he's coiled on Saleh's breast, and there's something in the flicker of his tongue and the twinkle of his eye that says the same thing.

" _You_ are my captain now," he says, smiling. "And I will follow you." His stretcher is then taken away into the ambulance.

For a moment, it seems like the bewilderment that's been swirling inside her will rise, and mix with her shame, and overwhelm her. How can she, her captain's murderer, be worthy of receiving his title? But Nasirah is there. And in a rare display of unprofessional affection, she nuzzles Pharah's cheek - nothing too cozy, just a soft little headbutt, but it's still surprising. Then she fixes her human in her intense gaze, her eyes like fire in the first rays of the emerging sun. "What is your tattoo, Fareeha?" she asks softly. 

"An udjat," Pharah replies, the answer sounding more like a question. "It means..." It means protection, doesn't it? Just like her mother's did, it will keep her...safe? No. _Now_ it dawns on her. "It means I am a protector." 

Nasirah's eyes appear to smile. "You will be a great captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Chapter Two, which is basically Pharah's comic in DAEMON-VISION™. Told you they wouldn't all be exposition vomit. XD
> 
> Anyway, Pharah's daemon is a red-chested goshawk (would've gone with falcon, but I felt I needed a bird that was characterized by a calm, stoic attitude), and her name Nasirah means "protector" (fitting, right?). Tariq has a burrowing owl, Saleh's Cheleb ("the shepherd's dog" - named because she was born as a puppy?) is an Aesculapian snake (the temple snake of the Greek god of healing, Asclepius), and Captain Khalil's Akilah ("clever") was...hm...maybe a collie of some sort? I dunno, they are clever dogs!
> 
> Anyway, can't promise the next one will be out soon (I mean, it's been what...a month since the last update?), but I do know who I'm going to write about next. Anyway, thanks for reading, and any concrit/kudos is appreciated! <3 <3


End file.
